December 28, 2012

Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Rosado Sungrown Magnum R44

Rosado Sungrown Magnum

I do not smoke many cigars by Arturo Fuente. I will say that right now; but when I do I smoke an Opus X, Lost City, Añejo, or the Magnum R. The line is one of the more recent releases from the company, and since its release has done very well among critics. The Fuente Family is probably the most well known of cigar manufacturers in the industry, and it really does not matter where you put these in the humidor or the pricing of the cigar, people pick these sticks up. There have been countless times where I have been in Havana Phil's and I have been asked about my favorite Fuente or where they are kept in the humidor and I say the left wall. They have such a huge selection of cigars that one would think it is to much, but they are always moving because everyone picks one or the other up. The one that I point people in the direction of is the Magnum R.

The Magnum R line features a unique wrapper that has been aged for nearly a decade and is a rare and delicate leaf. It is from Ecuador and is culled from lower primings. It is an exclusive leaf for Arturo Fuente and is Rosado Sungrown. Underneath that wrapper is a blend of Dominican fillers and a Dominican binder leaf. Like all Fuente Cigars it is made in the Dominican Republic, and this size is the fifth installment to the original four vitolas in the line. The cigar bears the name R44 and measures 5" with a 44 ring gauge. That is the information from the Fuente website, on other sites I have seen that it measures 4 7/8" with a 47 ring gauge. This is the latest line from Arturo Fuente, and since its release has made huge waves. The cigar is meant to be light in strength but full in flavors, and that is something that is very challenging as a cigar, but when done well is amazing.

Ecuadorian Rosado Sungrown

The cigar is constructed wonderfully and has a terrific cap. It is firm in hand with no soft spots present and has a great coloring with oils present. It has a great Rosado coloring, and shows some great red coloring with bits of dark brown present throughout. There are a few veins present on the wrapper and it reminds me of some great Cuban wrappers. At the foot of the cigar I am getting some nice Asian spice notes, and also some wood, leather, coffee beans and hay. The wrapper is showing some sweet cedar notes and I believe this cigar is going to be truly delightful. I have always been a fan of the line, and now that they have a 44 ring gauge offering I am thrilled!

The cigar begins by showing some lovely light grass and hay flavors. There is a nice bit of cedar present there as well, and I am getting some coffee bean and spices as well. It has a nice complexity and flavor profile, and remains fairly soft in terms of strength as well. It is definitely a complex cigar, and I am finding the flavors to play off of each other wonderfully. The cigar is burning wonderfully, leaving a nice even burn line, and it has a cool draw with a nice bit of smoke. The ash to the cigar is very light in coloring, and has a light gray color that is remaining firmly on the cigar. I am finding the strength of the cigar to be just under medium in body and it is a cigar that is great to start the day off to. It is not small enough to be an everyday morning smoke, but great for the weekends.

Nice Burn

In the second half of the cigar the flavors remain fairly similar to that of the first half, but I am seeing a rise in some cocoa flavors and an increase in the coffee bean flavors. There is still a nice bit of wood and leather showing up, and even a lovely finish of hay and grass notes. It definitely possessed a great flavor profile, and was a more compact version of the line. The cigar continued to burn wonderfully in the second half of the cigar, and it still produced that wonderful solid light gray ash that held on to the cigar perfectly. It was never flaky throughout but firm and that is what you look for in an ash I believe. It has a cool draw all the way to the end, and on the last draw it was very flavorful. The strength remained slightly below medium throughout, and I stand by my case of saying this is an enjoyable morning smoke.

I know I gravitate towards smaller cigars anytime of year, but in the winter it is a perfect time to grab something that is smaller in size because of the weather. There are so many smokers who continue to grab large cigars in the winter time when it is cold outside and never finish smoking a cigar because it gets too cold outside. What they need to do is grab a cigar smaller in size so that they can really enjoy the whole cigar. This is a great example of a smaller ring gauge and shorter cigar that offers a great flavor profile and a strength level that all smokers could enjoy. I know I will be reaching for more of these cigars, rather than the larger smokes in the line, and find these to be my morning smoke in the summers. I give this smoke a solid 91 and found it to be a great find at Havana Phil's that I did not notice earlier.